One Last Dance by Ernesto Patino

One Last Dance by Ernesto Patino
Publisher: Paper Angel Press
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Devastated by the tragic death of his fiancée, Marco Anissi sets out to find the woman who received his beloved Susan’s heart.

Marco Anissi comes out of a coma, days after his car slams into a light pole-the same pole he had crashed into exactly ten years ago, killing his fiancée, Susan.

Convinced that her spirit has reached out to him in a way he would understand, Marco embarks on a search to find the woman who had received Susan’s heart. He finds her in Tucson where she works as a dance teacher. Her name is Julia. He signs up for lessons, hoping to develop a relationship. Now, Marco must make a decision: tell the truth about himself and risk losing Julia with whom he’s falling in love, or remain silent and enjoy his new life with her.

Can two hearts that beat as one in life be parted by death?

Love is limitless.

There aren’t enough romance novels out there about characters with serious chronic illnesses for my tastes, so this was something I was determined to read as soon as I finished the blurb. It was interesting to get to know Julia as she coped with the health complications that can come after an organ transplant and attempted to fulfill her dreams while also accepting that there were limitations to what she was physically able to do. Figuring out the balance between the two isn’t always easy, but it sure does make for some good storytelling.

I struggled with how different the ending of this book was when compared to the beginning or middle. It almost seemed to be something written in another genre entirely, especially when I considered how out of character certain individuals behaved when compared to their choices earlier on in the storyline. While it’s difficult to go into much detail here without sharing spoilers, I can say that one of the things that surprised me the most had to do with how slowly one of the characters responded to a life-threatening diagnosis. This didn’t seem to match up with what I’d learned about him earlier, and it led to consequences that could have been easily avoided. As much as I wished to give this title a higher rating, the plot holes and sudden shift in tone and themes at the end were an obstacle for me to do so.

The subplot about how an organ transplant can change a recipient’s personality, habits, and interests caught my attention. This was something I’d heard of before, but I wasn’t aware of the many different ways this medical procedure can alter someone’s life or that the reasons for it are still being investigated. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that dove into not only how the patient can respond to these changes but how people who once knew and loved the donor might react as well. This was a unique twist on the romance genre that piqued my interest in the author’s past, present, and future work.

One Last Dance was a thought provoking read.